Justice and Faraday
by PowerZone
Summary: A series of stories featuring Apollo and Kay - their interactions with each other and the people around them, the everyday mayhem to the blazing sessions in the courtroom, and intricate pasts that may define their future - all of these can be found in the mini-series where almost anything goes. Rated T for mild violence and mild sexual implications. OCs may appear.
1. Introductory Notes

PowerZone Productions

(in collaboration with The Last Attorney)

presents

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**JUSTICE AND FARADAY**

A Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney FanFiction

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**Content of Episodes:**_  
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**1: Café Therapy** (complete and submitted)  
_It was supposed to be an ordinary night for Apollo as he sat down in his favorite café and downed his coffee while letting the ambiance and the soothing atmosphere get to him. But when a newcomer passes by and offers to sit down with him, Apollo knew that it would just be the first night for many more days and nights to come. Their first meeting might be a moment Apollo needed after all of the week's frustrations and hopelessness._

**2: In The Footsteps of the Raven **(complete and submitted)  
_The late prosecutor Byrne Faraday's greatest memento for Kay was a notebook with handwritten promises, those that Kay took by heart. But when she discovers that some promises are meant to be broken, Kay wants to know the meaning behind her father's last words as she takes on the challenge to follow the Raven's footsteps by becoming a prosecutor herself._

**3: Change of Heart** (complete and submitted)  
_Before Apollo entered law school, his orphaned life was a string of messy encounters. One particular incident however made him rethink on what he could do with this life - and in that transition was the moment when he set his heart full-course for the eyes of the law. How Apollo became to be Justice is something worth to be shared._

**4: Deep **(in progress)  
_Apollo thought that the last kiss he received from Kay was just a polite one, until he is told a somehow deeper meaning behind that kiss. And with the prospect of facing Kay Faraday in open court in a few days, making the prosecutorial debut for Kay, will he have to toss aside those unnecessary growing feelings to get his point across the witness stand?_

**5: Mentors' Standoff **(coming soon)  
_It's been years since Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright have contacted each other. So when Miles Edgeworth decides to visit Phoenix Wright for the first time since his disbarment, there's going to be a lot of surprises for the two rivals when they figure out that their students are rivals in the courtroom as well._

... more to come

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**Authors' Notes:**

_Welcome to my first-ever series of chronicles, featuring a probably overlooked pairing, Apollo Justice and Kay Faraday, both coming from two different places in the Ace Attorney series._

_The idea was conceived when I noticed the distinct similarities between Kay and Apollo, but all-in-all, I had to wonder why no one had ever written a FanFiction for the both of them. Thus, when I submitted my first two stories, "Café Therapy" and "Day-Off," featuring the two of them, I realized they had potential._

_The chronicles does not center on the two of them exclusively, though some episodes will feature them. It aims to get a better look at their life and their interaction with other characters throughout the Ace Attorney universe - so it simply wants to connect pieces of memories of numerous characters, prominently between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth. And speaking of them, there's another kind of plot that I want to display (though there are no chapter-connected plots in chronicles). Phoenix Wright has Apollo Justice as his student, and we already know that he's a defense attorney. Miles Edgeworth doesn't have students of his own. And seeing that Kay Faraday wants to become like her father, a Hero of Justice as she calls and who is also a prosecutor, I'll set the story line that Kay Faraday becomes Miles Edgeworth's student and eventually becomes a prosecutor. Does she also pursue some time being the Yatagarasu that she claims to be? We'll find out._

_Age-wise, at the beginning of Apollo Justice Ace Attorney, which is seven years after Trials and Tribulations, Apollo is twenty-two years old (because he says it himself in the third case of the game, Turnabout Serenade). Miles Edgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations is set after Trials and Tribulations, starting on March of that year - one month after the end of the case, Bridge to the Turnabout. Thus, using simple mathematics, Apollo would be fifteen years old. At the start of the game Miles Edgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations, Kay is seventeen years old. Therefore, there is a two year gap between Apollo and Kay. We don't mind since the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney likes Apollo and Ema pairings, even though they're three years apart, Ema three years his senior... and also Klavier and Ema pairings, even though Ema is one year Klavier's senior._

_There may be spoilers for different cases in the numerous stories. But all-in-all, I don't want to touch those parts as they have little bearing with the events here in the chronicles. The reason is that I am not yet all too familiar with Kay's movements and interactions in the second game of the Ace Attorney Investigations, though I know for sure that she gets herself in quite a bind in one of the cases. There are also backstories which I made up - such as Miles Edgeworth's love-life (oh, you should read that soon), and even Trucy's dating attempts. Pretty soon, it'll become an Ace Attorney Chronicles-esque kind of story._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: I have no intention to increase the fanbase for any Apollo/Kay. If such an increase in fanbase occurs, then that is merely out of the FanFiction authors' actions. Thus, the stories here do not have any intention of persuasion or any similar form._

_But like any other FanFiction story, I hope you can leave some comment or review after every chapter that I post. New chapters will come out possibly once in two weeks, though regular updates can become a blue moon._

_Also to my avid readers, if you've been wondering why I haven't updated "Ace Attorney Investigations - Chain of Events," it's because I'm focusing on this new project. AAI - Chain of Events is an experiment and is not guaranteed to become a permanent project, thus it is subject to become deleted soon. But some parts of the story in that fanfiction can be added into this one, so maybe I can integrate some elements of suspense and mystery in the middle of friendship and romance. So sit back and relax with the stories conceived for this series._

_For more details about Apollo Justice and Kay Faraday's individual backgrounds, you can check the Ace Attorney Wikia. Note that some of these details may be contradictory or incomplete._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Ace Attorney. But I secretly wish that Kay Faraday would be my girlfriend. I don't mind having a professional thief for a girlfriend, as long as she can steal my heart._

_**PowerZone**_

_**The Last Attorney**_


	2. EP 1: Café Therapy

**~~~~~ EPISODE 1: CAFÉ THERAPY ~~~~~**

_This is the very same story that I submitted a few weeks ago under the same title. I deleted that story to be integrated in this series, so you can enjoy the same goodness here without the despair of me having deleted the one-shot. Enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think about it by the end of this chapter. Also, details of a chapter are placed before the story proper line._

_SETTING: September 26, 2027; 10:00 PM (one year after the end of Apollo Justice Ace Attorney)_

_POINT-OF-VIEW: Apollo Justice_

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***** STORY PROPER *****_  
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Soft music played in the background – bossa nova and jazz blended into a smooth song eager to cool the mind and spirit of the people dropping by the evening café. The week ended with a drizzle, a melancholic mood in a part of town, where a week's fruitful work could be celebrated with a few drinks and some nice rest and relaxation. Even the piano accompaniment with the music soothed the souls of the people lucky enough to drop by at the fortunate hour. The small café was reputable for its relaxing ambience, to get away from the lively and noisy area of the city, where most youthful and adventurous people would hang out and spend the night away. Met by a knot of regulars, the café served drinks – five percent alcohol at the strongest – that ensured that customers would not become too tipsy or drunk. Exotic never-seen-before drinks were a plus.

Among the regulars was a young attorney named Apollo. He had no definite family name, but he was given the oddly mounted surname of Justice when he was in law school. He trashed his previous surname for vague reasons, though it was for his best. His first year as a defense attorney was met with praise and a fair share of criticism. Until now, nobody ever found out his winning secret – save for a select few, the people whom he felt confident to share privy.

In a corner, where the lights were well-lit unlike the rest of the room dimmed to conform to the atmosphere, Apollo picked up the newspaper and began reading through details of the latest case, in which he was the defense attorney of a businessman accused of murder. The murder cases were cleared, though the businessman had to commit corruption to save himself – that would be a different case, one whom Apollo would have little bearing on the matter. He felt pleased and overjoyed for exposing numerous dirty tactics by the prosecutor. The next column did indicate the prosecutor being levied a heavy fine for his actions in the courtroom for that case. The jurists were smart enough to figure out Apollo's accusations.

He sat alone at a table for two, accompanied by the music and a glass of Winter Rosetta, a café-special mildly alcoholic iced coffee containing coffee granules and some fragments from an edible plant. Apollo was used to the solo time, the free space where he could get away from it all just for a short while. The seclusion was a stress-reliever, with no one to be worried about – for Trucy and his mentor, the famed Phoenix Wright (who, by the way was about to be reinstated with his attorney's badge after almost eight years), were off on a family vacation (which Apollo politely refused to join). Actually Apollo did want to join in the family fun, but he was facing some personal issues – one that involved a romantic liaison with a detective in the Police Department.

Somehow, the thoughts that disturbed Apollo whenever he had to face this issue seemed to cloud his mind whenever he entered the café. He did gain a number of friends and acquaintances in this little shop (once, an old man requested Apollo to review the will he crafted, only to find out that the contents might have been fabricated and tampered). He had no choice but in order to preserve their good names in their respective professions, Apollo had to sever the ties. He certainly felt guilty after that when he saw her walk away – gracefully yet sadly. A month had passed since then and there were no contacts ever since. He could still hear the cries of retribution, but Apollo resolved to keep these matters behind and not let get in the way of what he believed in.

Almost lost in thought as he entered the sports column – wondering if the local football team might have made it big time after suffering three months of continuous losses – Apollo went back to his senses when he heard the wind chime ring. As a regular, he found it to be highly unusual since not so many people would go in or out at this time whenever the café music beckoned to slow them down. A little tempted, he turned his head slightly and caught the glimpse of a woman dressed in corporate attire. While this wasn't a piquing interest for some, Apollo took his chances to investigate the newcomer closely. She entered the café as she tucked her expandable umbrella away in her sidebag and ordered something in the café menu. When she finished it, she retrieved her order marker (so that the attendants would know where she was seated) and proceeded to search for an empty spot where she could sit down idly. The woman did find one on an empty table next to Apollo's.

The defense attorney feigned interest as he went back to poring the news details on the newspaper. In reality, he was suddenly interested in his woman. As she came closer, Apollo could make out the physical details. It hit him quite suddenly that she had a lot of physical semblances to his ex-girlfriend, though there were some noticeable differences: this woman had long ravenous black wavy hair tied to a ponytail by a complex-looking lip, had some sort of laidback attitude and an easygoing personality judging from the rather excited face, and had a good posture despite her seemingly uncomfortable heels, which Apollo initially judged that the woman wasn't very accustomed to. He tried to make it out if she was a businessperson – but one glancing look at her attire made Apollo think otherwise. He caught sight of what seemed to be a familiar looking badge tucked on the left collar of her executive robes. It was a prosecutor's badge.

Knowing this, he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. "_Of all places, why is a prosecutor here in the café? Shouldn't she be in the High Prosecutors Office – where the prosecutors usually hang out or keep themselves wallowed in work?_" Apollo was also aware that he was still donning his badge on his left collar. "_No worries. As long as I can keep my collar out of sight, she won't recognize I'm a defense attorney._"

There really wasn't anything else interesting to read, but Apollo had to keep his stance. Sometimes, Apollo couldn't really help it but know more about this interesting prosecutor. He slowly put down his newspaper and took a drink from the Winter Rosetta, though he was actually eyeing the prosecutor's movements. Judging from her expression and the labored breathing (Apollo had to use his perceiving ability), it seemed as if she wasn't actually waiting for anyone – though other people in the café might have thought otherwise. She was pressing buttons on her cell phone – presumably trying to contact someone, though Apollo was quite sure she was just fidgeting her phone around. These actions deemed to be strange.

"_Still, I know better than to indulge myself into her private matter, no matter how awkward it is…_" Apollo tried his best to be uninterested. He went back into his newspaper and searched for a different topic to read. Eventually, he conceded as he put down the newspaper. Looking away from an intelligent-looking beautiful lady was not an easy thing to do for Apollo. He had encountered numerous ladies with such visage but he experienced that new feeling regarding this stranger. "_It's as if she wants to talk to me… But should I approach her?_"

"Is this seat taken?"

Apollo almost jumped in surprise when he heard someone nearby him. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice the lady in the table next time actually stand beside his. Her smile was charming – despite being a prosecutor having to deal with hardened criminals. He fumbled for any words to say in a gentlemanly manner.

"N-No," he stammered. He could feel the horns on his hair droop down.

"Do you mind if I take it?" asked the lady.

Apollo smiled – though he hardly called it a polite one out of embarrassment. "No, the seat's all yours."

"Thank you."

Like a couple on their first date, there was some awkward silence between the two of them. People would then be wondering why a defense attorney and a prosecutor would be sitting in the same table – under a brightly illuminated area nonetheless. Perhaps some business-related matters that didn't do much for the public. The people were here in the café to mellow out and purge the week's stress and frustrations.

The lady's drink came – a glass of Winter Rosetta, the same as Apollo's.

"First time here?" Apollo asked her.

The lady nodded curtly. "I've heard about this side of town from the higher-ups, so I decided to swing by."

"Higher-ups," Apollo noted her dialogue. He fixed his interest on the prosecutor's badge. "So… uhh, you're a prosecutor, right?"

She took a sip of her Winter Rosetta before turning to Apollo. "Yep," she replied jovially though there was a tone that made her feel like a schoolchild. "I just became a prosecutor a few months ago. I have yet to try a case." For the sake of it, she took another sip of her iced coffee. "What's your name?"

"Apollo," Apollo introduced himself as he let out a hand for the lady to shake. "Apollo Justice. Yours?"

"Kay. Kay Faraday," the prosecutor introduced herself as she shook the defense attorney's hand. "Among the people in our department, you're quite famous. I heard you made some ruckus in court this week."

Apollo chuckled, though he felt as if he were slightly insulted. "Ruckus?"

"It's not really what you think," Kay justified, smiling bashfully. "We also had problems with him – regarding his dirty tricks in prosecuting. The chief prosecutor was planning to release her ire on him after the trial. Sounds like he's got the poison effective in him. Good job."

While Apollo thanked her for the praise, he also thought of the feeling of being congratulated by a newbie prosecutor. There was a very unusual feeling on it, but he relished the praise. After all, the prosecutor in that trial was indeed fined a hefty sum – either that or stripped off his prosecutorial badge. There were speculations, though, that he would face charges of obstruction of justice. Why they came to that conclusion remained unknown.

"Anyway, I don't like to talk about work for now," Kay said.

"Is there something wrong?" Apollo inquired.

The prosecutor sighed as she placed her elbows on the varnished table. She placed her chin on her hands of her raised arms. "I find this place to be relaxing – unlike the loud noise that the people in the office make."

"Do you not like the work environment there?"

Kay felt the needed to be not completely honest, but she could not suffice a white lie either. "How should I put this?" She closed her eyes and thought of the answer she could extract from her mind. "A few months as a prosecutor and I still need to adjust. I'm usually someone who wants to be quiet – in my own way."

Apollo nodded. If this were some sort of employment interview, she would have scored negative points on this one.

"Don't you usually work in a law office?" Kay inquired.

The tide shifted from Kay to Apollo. He wondered if he could trust this woman into divulging some information. Maybe she wasn't here for leisure after all – maybe she was here in some undercover operation, probably trying to get Apollo to talk. There was no complete assurance that this sweet-talking lady, who worked on opposite terms with Apollo, could benefit from Apollo's silence.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about work," Apollo recalled Kay's words. He had to say it in a manner that did not pique her suspicion, if indeed she was working undercover.

"Sorry," she replied apologetically – Apollo found this genuine. "I'm… a bit of a haywire lately."

Personal matters would do in this conversation. Even so, Apollo had to keep his guard up and watch what he said.

"Something's bothering you?" The attorney asked.

Kay frowned. A small sip of her Winter Rosetta seemed to make her feel better. Absorbing the ambience and the harmonious melody of the slow music eased her senses, though she did not feel completely comfortable. "It's really nothing, Apollo. Personal as it seems, I'm quite frustrated on what the kind of career path I've taken."

Apollo could relate to that. "_I think we're similar on opposite terms – though I can't really say than I'm frustrated with my job._"

"My late father was a prosecutor himself," Kay continued. "When he died, he left… a lot of mess in his office."

"So let me guess," Apollo cut in. He seemed a little rude to be doing that – but Kay's expression told him otherwise. Kay must have had a thing for people who want to cut in conversations. "You proceeded to finish what your father started?"

"Yes and no," Kay answered. "It was… almost eight years ago when my father died. The mess was cleared in a short time – but I highly doubt if being a prosecutor to finish what my father started was the right thing for me in the first place."

It was like cross-examining a witness all over again – this time, up close and personal without the supervision of the judge and the wary eye of the prosecutor.

"So, uhh…" Apollo scratched the back of his head, "if you weren't a prosecutor, what would you be then?"

It was at this point when Kay flashed a mischievous smile, something that Apollo didn't want to find out the answer to his own question.

"I think I can trust you on this one," Kay said. "It's a funny thing – but if I weren't a prosecutor, I'd be a professional thief."

For real, Apollo flinched in his seat. "A… thief?"

Kay laughed heartily. "Don't take it seriously, Apollo." She joined her hands together and leaned forward. "It has something to do with my past. But what I really mean is that if I weren't a prosecutor, I'd be a thief out to capture the truth."

The defense attorney nodded, a wonder coming over to his mind, "_She sounds like Trucy… so dedicated yet sometimes delusional._"

"Ever heard of the Yatagarasu?"

Apollo shook his head, half-wondering if this Yatagarasu was another exotic drink from Jamaica and on the must-have list of the café.

Kay was eager for Apollo to know a little bit about the Yatagarasu, but she became disappointed when the latter showed very little interest. A change of topic would be necessary. "Oh well, I guess there's no point…"

Silence reigned between the two of them again, while letting the mood of the evening and a much slower and mellower music play around with their minds. The light overhead them dimmed – the café attendant must have noticed that Apollo was not reading the newspaper, he had set it aside. Some brimming warmness permeated the atmosphere, keeping comfortable the two conversing lawyers.

"Are you into music?" Kay asked.

Apollo sensed that she was taken aback by what she said. He decided to go with the flow. "Yeah," he answered.

"What's your ideal music?"

"Classical," Apollo said smartly, "though I'm also into the _Gavinners_."

When he mentioned the ultra-hit rock band, the _Gavinners_, Kay's eyes lit up. "Y-You are?" She squealed.

Apollo laughed. "I was into it because I faced their lead vocalist in the courtroom."

Kay's jaws dropped. "Y-You must have been so lucky…"

"It's not like that," said Apollo. "Apparently, my assistant's practically swooning over the band, she came home one night with the _Gavinners_ last music album, '_Show on the Road.'_ She insisted that we play the music – but she turned up the volume so loud, her father got annoyed."

Kay laughed heartily. "I must say that the _Gavinners _did themselves good. I thought they disbanded after one of their members was charged of murder."

"I was the defense attorney, and I was the one who pointed out that fact," Apollo flaunted.

The prosecutor covered her mouth to keep her from gasping. When she recovered, she said, "If we were to face each other in court tomorrow, I'd lose to you quickly."

Apollo felt embarrassed. "Experience doesn't really matter… Only the evidence can prove anything."

"So… where's your evidence that you were the one who pointed out that he was the killer for that case?" Kay teased.

Apollo mumbled. "No evidence to present at this time," he mumbled. "You could check the Records Room if you have time."

She giggled. "I guess you'll have to be guilty as charged."

"That album remains to be the best – for me, anyway."

Kay affirmed. "'_Guilty As Charged'… _I really love that album – especially their songs, _'Guilty Love,' 'My Boyfriend is the Prosecution's Witness,' 'Love with No Chance of Parole,' 'Thirteen Years Hard Time for Love'…_" The list went on and on and on, but she proved Apollo that she was a die-hard _Gavinners_ fan.

Apollo knew he might be in for a long night listening to Kay's endless rambling about any trivia she could come up about the _Gavinners._ But he was still proud that he actually met and confronted their lead singer – his courtroom rival and, yet, his personal friend. Two years senior, Klavier Gavin was a solid and dedicated prosecutor who always set his eyes for the truth.

"Where could their lead singer be right now?" Kay asked with a wondrous expression.

Apollo shrugged. "_Even after a year, I think Klavier's still studying abroad in Zheng Fa… something to do with jurisprudence and international legal studies._" He smiled as he turned to the wall and juggled his thoughts. "_I kinda envy him right now… he's somewhere trying to reach greater heights – while I'm here in the city, doing what I can to scrap for a living._"

"What's your style of music?" Apollo asked her. "Aside from the _Gavinners, _that is…"

"Classical as well, though more of the contemporary period," Kay answered. "But if you like modern, then maybe alternative and mellow will do."

"Just like this music?"

Kay closed her eyes to listen to the smooth and soothing lyrics. The song had just finished the refrain, which seemed an octave higher than the verses. She opened her eyes after a few seconds. "Just like that," Kay said romantically. "'_Starlight Sonata' _is quite tearful, though it's a cup of tea for me."

Apollo rested his arms on the table. "You sure are something into romance…"

Kay batted an eyelash. "Oh… I used to have those fantasies – usually from movies… but I'm not into movies."

"Frustrated romance perhaps?"

The prosecutor's mouth hung open for a few seconds. "I dunno… maybe I'm not really into that kind of thing… Hey! Are you trying to…"

Apollo leaned back on the chair. "No, no, no…" he told Kay hastily and improvised wildly for his reason. "It's just a matter of perception." He cleared his throat. "_Damn… she must be rubbing off me. Way for me to drive a nail in my own coffin._"

"I noticed something," Kay told Apollo. "What's that you're wearing in your left wrist?"

The defense attorney looked at his left wrist and spotted the special bracelet. His bracelet was made of a special alloy that exhibited unusual properties. Whenever he performed a cross-examination of a witness, Apollo had to be attentive of both the witness's testimony and the bracelet in his wrist. Often, a witness would employ a subconscious act that affected their testimony. While it was not a contradiction of sorts, these actions that unnerve the witness often lead to Apollo in perceiving some hidden information based on these actions. In the first place, he could detect if a witness was having these subconscious acts when his bracelet would expand and contract considerably.

"Oh, this?" Apollo held up his bracelet for Kay to see properly. "It's a special bracelet handed to me by my mother… That's all I know about it, but… I think it's some sort of memento."

"A memento that your mother left?"

Apollo put down his arm. "Y-Yeah…" He took a deep breath. "I was orphaned at a young age when my parents got divorced. I… have never known how my mother or father looked like. But all I got from my mother – according to Mr. Wright – is this bracelet. Somehow, it's been some sort of reminder for me."

"A reminder?" Kay asked curiously.

Apollo frowned. "One of these days, I'll find my biological mother – because I have a lot of questions to ask her."

"So who brought you up?"

He took a sip from his Winter Rosetta. "I was given the surname of Justice when I started law school. It was my foster father's idea and he was a former circuit court judge. At the age of twenty-two, I became a full-fledged lawyer."

Kay was taken aback. "That's quite young. Although I do know of someone who became a lawyer at the age of thirteen."

Apollo recalled a vague detail about it as Phoenix Wright told him of the many people he met during his legal career. "The famed von Karma, correct?"

"You must really know your people," Kay complimented.

Apollo chuckled bashfully. "I do get to know some tricks from Mr. Wright himself."

Kay displayed some surprise. "Mr. Wright? You mean… Phoenix Wright?"

"Yeah," said Apollo. "He's been my mentor for two years now, though I'm quite capable of getting up to the task. You could imagine my kind of excitement when I heard that he would be reinstated back to the profession." He felt some sort of suspicion towards Kay. "W-What do you know about Mr. Wright?"

"You wanna know who mentored me to become a prosecutor?"

Though Apollo didn't want to know, he pushed it. "Who?"

Kay giggled. "Miles Edgeworth."

The name caught Apollo off-guard and his mouth hung open in utter amazement. "_Of all the prosecutors I want to face in a courtroom someday – it would be Miles Edgeworth. It's been a dream of mine…_" Indeed, he would have a hat off for Kay. Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth were fierce rivals in the courtroom, though Wright admitted that there was also a level of friendship between the both of them. Their tutees, Apollo mused, would they end up the same?

"You know what? Given the circumstances, I think I'd love to face-off against you in the courtroom someday." Kay openly admitted.

Apollo smiled. "Then be my guest. Although I'd love to do nothing more than find the truth."

"Just as lawyers should do…"

"Yeah."

The music had shifted from the slow and mellowing music to a slightly quicker one, this time an alternative genre. It was a love song performed by a popular band from years ago but the song still made its way through time. Kay sang to the first verse while Apollo continued to calm his senses, but he was secretly smitten by her wonderful voice.

"You have a wonderful voice," Apollo complimented.

Kay giggled hard. In the dimness of the café, she was slightly grateful that Apollo didn't see her blush. "You think so?"

"Maybe… you might just sway me in the courtroom with that tone of yours," Apollo teased, causing to Kay to blush harder to a point that she had to turn away. "But no matter… I won't let my guard down in case we would face each other."

This provoked some great sense of interest to Kay. "I think I like you."

Apollo chuckled, though he could have been more embarrassed than he thought. "Don't say that. We've only met."

The prosecutor sighed. "I know, I know… I get carried away quite easily, but no matter."

"You just need to focus," Apollo reassured her. "I'm taking your compliment."

Their conversation had been quite remarkable and enjoyable in that single evening that they lost track of time in the middle of the mental swaying. In the café, people who would come to drown out the sorrows and the pains were given enough time to heal themselves. That's why the name of the café stood up to its reputation – Café Therapy. For Apollo, it was a healing process he so desperately needed – the immense pressure of the court case he had been working on for the past two weeks, doubled with the efforts of putting himself together after willfully breaking his romantic relationship, and the regret of not having to spend the much-needed vacation with Phoenix Wright and his adopted daughter. For Kay, it was simply to get away from the noise and stress of the twenty-four hour non-stop action in the High Prosecutor's office.

When Apollo and Kay checked their times, it was already close to midnight. The café would be closing in a few minutes.

"I think we should head out," Kay suggested.

Apollo nodded, his smile fading a little. "Yeah, but to be honest, I'm really enjoying this night that I'm willing to drink down another Winter Rosetta… and another round of conversation with you."

"What makes me so interesting?"

He would have to trust his bracelet on this one. "You're so innocent, I find it strange."

Kay put a palm to her chest. "Me? Strange."

Apollo decided to give it some thought, but he wasn't going to take back his word. "I'm not really sure what I mean… but I think you're not like any of the other prosecutors I know. You've got potential." He paused. "And seriously…" he leaned forward, "I'd love nothing else hereon than facing you in the courtroom."

Kay leaned forward as well as she rested her arms on the table. "I'd love nothing else than to see you squirm against an amateur prosecutor."

"It's a date."

"It is."

Only after a few seconds later did Apollo notice how close their faces were to each other. He had to lean back and flush whatever blood protested to rush to his cheeks. Despite this, Apollo's thoughts were in continuous motion. "_I'm not sure how to react to this… but up close, Kay is really drop-down head-to-toe gorgeous._"

As soon as they chugged down the last of their Winter Rosetta, the attorney and the prosecutor stood up from their table and walked across the café to the front door. Café Therapy finished playing its last song for the day before the café attendant in her night's shift announced via a microphone somewhere that the café was about to close. Apollo and Kay were among the first ones to leave before an exodus of satisfied customers exited the café and went on about their directions.

Apollo was always in a dilemma when he wanted to be a gentleman. Even in law school, he had a bit of trouble keeping his manners in check – not out of rowdiness but out of clumsiness. At a young age, he was popular among the ladies because of his laid-back attitude and the signature horns of his hair. Even with his newfound seriousness as he went through law school, his hair still stood out that he was dubbed "antenna man" for a short while before Apollo confronted the person who created the moniker. Needless to say, Apollo never harbored any ill-will to anyone and was generally friendly.

But in front of Kay, a stranger slash prosecutor whom he happened to meet during a secluded peaceful session, he seemed to be tested. "_What would I do this situation?_" Kay was looking around, perhaps a taxi to take her home.

"Should I get you a cab?" Apollo asked. Only a second later did he realize he made a novice mistake.

Kay took it gently. "You're sweet, Apollo."

Apollo laughed bashfully as he moved to the street and hailed an incoming cab. "The cab's all yours, milady," Apollo said to Kay as he made a gentlemanly bow. Kay laughed.

"Thanks." She was about to clamber into the taxi when she told Apollo. "Where do you live?"

It turned out that their homes were near each other's and the taxi would bring them down a similar road. The taxi would stop them in Kay's home first – and Apollo was there to lead her home. The drive through town would involve going through scenery of the metropolis and down the national highway before taking a quick turnaround then to the community where the both of them lived.

While inside the cab (the both of them sat on the back seat), the two of them continued their conversation – albeit in a low voice so that they wouldn't distract the kind cab driver's direction (the driver was thoughtful to close the shutter behind him and not intrude on his passengers' matters). Apollo and Kay, hours ago, were strangers. But they shared a similar profession, similar tastes, similar preferences, and similar ideas.

What seemed to be an hour later – though it took only twenty minutes before the cab pulled up at the destination – the two of them stepped out of the cab (for the memorable evening, Apollo paid for the fare). Midnight was always met with silence in their community, and Apollo would take the rest of his trip alone through the streets.

"So this is your home," Apollo told Kay when they stopped at the front of her home. Her home was a finely constructed two-story home. "It's impressive – much more compared to mine."

"Maybe I'll invite you in some time," Kay responded, to which Apollo nodded. Kay reached for something in her handbag. She took out a cellphone and gave it to Apollo. "I'm not really one to do this – but let me be honest with you." Apollo listened attentively. "Though you're a defense attorney and I'm a prosecuting attorney, I don't see any kind of boundary that can come between us and… I think it'll be interesting if I got to know you a little more."

Apollo was taken aback by the sudden revelation, but he accepted it straightforwardly with no enigma behind his expression. He understood what Kay meant when she gave her cellphone to Apollo. Apollo dialed in his cellphone number to add a contact. "I think the same way," he told her as he returned her phone. Maybe it was time for him to keep his life straight after the week's worth of frustrations.

Kay smiled. "This is… sayonara for the time being." She stepped forward to her gate as she took out her keys from her handbag.

"Goodnight Kay," bade Apollo.

"Goodnight Apollo," Kay bade back. She was about to enter the gate to her home when she turned around and went back. "I think you also deserve this for the company." She moved forward swiftly and made a quick peck to his cheek. "Goodnight, again." After a wink and leaving Apollo more surprised and speechless, she clambered through her gate and closed it.

"_I'm not sure on what to make out of this seemingly random encounter,_" Apollo mused as he walked down the quiet and peaceful streets of his neighborhood to his home. "_While I'm still speechless on what Kay did earlier, I think she'll be a formidable opponent in the courtroom. Outside our professional boundaries, I think there's still a lot for us to learn what it means to live the way we want to do. I don't question this kind of miracle._"

It just so happened that a week later after their one-night meeting, the two of them were set to face each other in the courtroom. It would be Kay's first case as a prosecutor and Miles Edgeworth, her mentor, would be watching as a spectator. In that case, the two were performing very well – to an extent where a lot of testimony and evidence piled up such that it had to take a secret collaboration between them to unearth some new information. Nevertheless, the case was resolved the next day, Apollo being the victor. Outside the courthouse, Apollo did have the chance to meet the renowned Edgeworth, and the maroon-coat genius-dubbed prosecutor even openly admitted that he was interested to look for a day when he would take his hand on facing Apollo Justice in court.

In-between cases, when they wanted to get away from the urban life, they would meet in the same café and sit in the same table – the table where they first met. Conversations were livelier, laughter was more relieving, and stories became a vital part of their memories – all with a drink of Winter Rosetta or the new must-try drinks of the café and the delightful soothing ambience with the accompanying pacifying music. It so happened that while their mentors found out (soon enough) whom their students have been communicating with, the two lawyers were always bound to their professionalism.

Despite the growing rivalry as the two of them faced each other in more cases into the future, their friendship bloomed more just like the case of their tutelages. Apollo could only wonder if some budding yet forbidden-to-an-extent romance with Kay Faraday might be the leverage he needed in his life. In the same way, Kay mused if she might just need the kind of edge her life needed by meeting such a dashing attorney, even though she believed him to be a close rival. Their destinies and thoughts could be answered or entertained, but only time would tell.

***** END OF EPISODE *******  
**

* * *

**Chapter Notes: **_The name of the drink "Winter Rosetta" is purely fictional. The name just struck into my mind while I was clearing out my cabinet containing high school mementos. When I opened my old history book (just for old times' sake), the page featured the Rosetta Stone and - it just hit me. If a similar drink exists, I'd like to try that out for myself - of course, with the low alcoholic content. That said, I don't claim to be an expert on liquor, since I'm not a bartender anyway.__  
_

_The songs mentioned in this story actually exist in the Ace Attorney universe. If you play "Apollo Justice Ace Attorney," you'll come across these songs which Klavier mentions (though he doesn't sing them, of course). The exception here is "Starlight Sonata," which is just a random title that popped into my head as I went along the paragraph. It's probably a fictional song to reflect the mood and the quietness of the night and possibly my mood when I wrote the story._

_I personally thought that this story was a little too rushed - this story was completed in three days with very little planning, impromptu thoughts, and bad-time work (11 PM to 1:30 AM). There were a few edited details compared to the one that I submitted as "Café Therapy."_

_I hope this was a good opening chapter for the Justice and Faraday chronicles despite the seemingly rushed end-of-chapter. Nevertheless, I'd like to thank those who will read and review this chapter. Should you have some nice ideas and situation suggestions, you can leave them along with your review or you can send me a PM. I'll entertain your ideas. Until then, thanks Ace Attorney fans! And more chapters to come!_

_**PowerZone**  
_


	3. EP 2: In the Footsteps of the Raven

**~~~~~ EPISODE 2: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RAVEN ~~~~~**

_My take on Kay's career start as a prosecutor needed me to get a little more research – particularly in the Yatagarasu. I'm very much acquainted with Ace Attorney Investigations, but if there are some details to be pointed out as well regarding the events in this chapter, then please let me know._

_SETTING: numerous settings (to be provided in every flashback)_

_POINT-OF-VIEW: Kay Faraday_

* * *

***** STORY PROPER *****

**September 10, 2011; Defendant Lobby No. 2**

"Ms. Yew, why would you be here?" Byrne Faraday, feigning surprise, asked the defense attorney who arrived in the defendant lobby from out of nowhere.

"Mr. Rell is my client and I will not tolerate any nuances of badgering or abuse from him," Calisto Yew answered, expressing her concern for her own client. Just minutes ago in the courtroom, Mack Rell, her client, accused Byrne Faraday of being the Yatagarasu and subsequently ordered him to carry out the hit job on the victim, the Cohdopian Embassy staff member, Deid Mann. "For those outbursts in the courtroom, it is my sincerest interest that as his lawyer, I have all the rights to demand what he means by those statements."

The prosecutor stepped away from Rell. "We're here to discuss some matters regarding his outburst in the courtroom – and I say that you should stay away from this."

Yew sighed. "I will not repeat myself again," she demanded. "Mr. Rell is my client and I have all the rights to…"

But Byrne cut her off. "This isn't a matter of who gets to interrogate Rell in recess and I see that," he told her, somewhat annoyed and irritated. "Unless you were busy in something else, I take it that you heard what he was saying."

The defense attorney rolled her eyes. "That you were accused of being the Yatagarasu? That much is fair."

Byrne sensed something. "You wanna know what I think, Ms. Yew? I think your client is being framed – not by me. Someone's trying to frame Mr. Rell on me – and I think there's enough evidence to back it up."

Yew frowned. She knew it already deep inside, but she decided to play along. "Evidence, huh?" She looked around and spotted the evidence bag on the table by the wall of the lobby. She walked to it and opened the bag to examine its contents. After a few seconds, Yew closed the bag and then turned around, her left arm behind her back. "Truth be told, I think they're flimsy. Even if Mr. Rell could indict you as the Yatagarasu, Mr. Rell could still be imprisoned even if it was on justification."

The prosecutor was meddling with his thoughts. "You don't get my point, Ms. Yew. I will not repeat myself again – someone's trying to frame Mr. Rell on me. Mr. Rell's unnatural behavior is a testament to this."

"You a lawyer?" Yew taunted, an eyebrow raised, though she can't hold herself back without bursting a fit of laughter. "Come on, Faraday. This court is nothing on behavior or anything… the evidence is what matters!"

Byrne might have thought Yew was annoying. He watched the defense attorney approach him. "What do you intend to do once the replacement prosecutor takes the stage?"

Yew did not need to think twice. "Make no mistake. I have no cover-ups or anything. I still intend Mr. Rell to stand by his statements with any available information he has. As for the prosecutor, I hear that it will be his first time in court – so there's going to be some interesting lesson there."

The prosecutor's lips twitched. "The evidence that I have will be transferred to the new prosecutor… and they will be the ones that will seal Mr. Rell's fate."

Mack Rell had been silent throughout the duration of the discourse between the two. Though it was noted that when Calisto Yew turned to face her client for a brief moment, Rell might have hinted some misgivings in his attorney's expression.

"Do what you will, Ms. Yew," said Byrne as he dismissed Yew from the lobby. "Leave us in our matters – but I will still have time to talk to you."

Yew heaved a sigh and was about to concede, when she remembered something, "Faraday, let me ask you a question."

Byrne was ready to answer whatever that question was.

"What do you think of Mr. Rell's statement? About you being the Yatagarasu?"

The prosecutor frowned. He looked away for a moment, unable to find a suitable answer. When he found one, he was getting goosebumps. "Truth be told, I do not know. Is that a lie based on some circumstantial evidence? Or is that a figment of truth based on some nonchalant matter? Either way, I could safely say that I am not the Yata –"

But he was interrupted when Yew suddenly started laughing maniacally.

"What's funny?"

Yew softened her laugh as she doubled over, clutching her stomach to contain whatever fit of laughter she could not suppress. "You could safely say that you are not the Yatagarasu, is that what you're trying to say?"

"Do you have an objection?" Byrne did not find this humorous anymore.

Almost as if it never happened, Yew became the all-natural poker-faced attorney. "You do remember why the Yatagarasu exists, right? Or maybe… you've forgotten?"

Byrne's eyes glowered, but it was at this moment that Mack Rell suddenly burst out from his chair and began accosting the prosecutor.

"So it's true!" he wailed. "You are the Yatagarasu!"

"Hmph," Byrne responded. "That is an ill thing to say, Mr. Rell."

"And you're the one who ordered me to make the hit on that Embassy staff member!"

"I did no such thing," Byrne answered demandingly, trying to force the words as the truth into his brain. "Even if I were the Yatagarasu, said vigilante would not allow anyone to perform an assassination at their request and leave evidence of criminal activity behind!"

Rell was confused. "So… who was it that did?"

The prosecutor switched glances between Rell and Yew until he came to the shocking conclusion, one that came from his years of experience in tracking the Yatagarasu's movements through numerous cases. "Don't tell me…" He backed away to keep a safe distance until his back was almost at the corner wall. "It was… you? Calisto Yew?"

The defense attorney made no comment.

Mack Rell was discombobulated as ever. "I… I don't get it! Why would my attorney do this? It's… it's insane!"

"Insane is an understatement," Yew responded. All this time, her left arm was at her back. Slowly, she let her right arm follow. Byrne sensed that something was wrong and he didn't let his guard down. "Faraday, you naïve fool. It seems you've suddenly forgotten who the real players in this world of vigilantes are."

Byrne gritted his teeth. He had to unleash all his anger and fury – that he was wrongly accused in open court, that he had to get his payback. But in front of Calisto Yew who was about to possibly attack him, he had no avenue of escape.

"In all this excitement," Yew continued. "There's also another question that almost slipped from my mind."

"What?"

Yew took a careful step forward. "Did you ever regret being the Yatagarasu? Even at one point in your life?"

Byrne blinked. He had never considered this question to be raised. But now that the jig was up – in front of Mack Rell, nonetheless – Byrne could not hold back the stinging question that started infecting his mind. He swallowed. "A few occasions, perhaps. Even for being so noble, I could have betrayed the nobility I swore to uphold. I might have avoided my daughter's care and affection in order to hide the dark secrets and in order to protect her. I did not want my daughter to find out that I was a criminal – even if it were for the better good. You should know better, Yew… being my colleague and all."

The defendant became outraged. "She is the Yatagarasu, too?"

But Yew snapped, "Shut up, Mr. Rell!" Rell could do nothing but comply.

"If you regret being the Yatagarasu," Yew continued as she took another careful step towards the prosecutor, "then there are simply no regrets in my part. I'm sorry, but base treachery cannot be overlooked."

With one twisted smile, she muttered, "I'm sorry… and goodbye, Byrne Faraday."

Before Byrne could raise an arm to defend himself, he felt himself stopped by Calisto Yew's quick and blinding speed. He could not utter a word to express the shock and the scene that unfolded before his very eyes.

The defense attorney and the prosecutor locked eyes one final time – the former with the intent to silence all along and the latter with the shock containing silence that would never be expressed. The kind of pain that was supposed to be present never came for Byrne Faraday as he could look down at the knife blade firmly pressed into his chest. Seconds drew down quickly as his life flashed before him – the happiest moments with his daughter only to end with the darkest moments of despair and regret. He would be sorry for never revealing what he could be as a father to his daughter, and he would have the rest of eternity contemplating if his life as a vigilante had been worth it. Unable to finish the words he could only mouth, Faraday's eyes closed gently as his vision ceased forever. He was dead before the blade was plunged off him.

* * *

**April 8, 2019; Solitary Confinement Cell No. 13**

"… and those were his last words."

Between the two of them was a barred wall that allowed only sound, sight, and smell to pass through. Kay had been listening intently on her reasons for killing Byrne Faraday, one of her accomplices of the enigmatic trio that was the Yatagarasu. She was still young at that time, but Kay knew that the time had presented itself – an opportunity in which she could learn from the truth.

Calisto Yew, or Shih-na, or whoever she might be called as nobody knew her real name, leaned back on the chair as she crossed her arms and legs and just watched Kay on the other side of the wall get lost in her own thoughts. Yew had already explained everything – and there was no need for further details.

But Kay was persistent. "What made you think you're cut out to be a Yatagarasu when you're just a cold-blooded murderer?"

Yew yawned and fidgeted with her fingernails. "Murderer is an understatement, Kay Faraday. There are not enough adjectives even so close to strike the right word…" She looked up to face her verbal adversary. "If you think you're cut out to become the next Yatagarasu just like your father, you should always entertain the possibility of risks."

The young lady stood there, delving in what Yew said about risks. "Tell me then about these risks."

Yew stood up and approached Kay, eventually stopping just a few inches from the barrier. "I'd rather not answer them – but I will want to impose a few questions for that." She looked away. "How far will you go to become the vigilante that you want to be? Will you violate the rules of the law just to make the truth known? Just how much will you put your entire life on the line in exposing what has been hidden?" Yew turned around and faced Kay with an unfriendly demeanor. "The life of the Raven has never been compared to that of other lowly grand thieves – Mask deMasque included. It's not a walk in the park, Kay Faraday. If you should pursue the kind of grand career that you claim to have inherited from your father, then you should consider the questions I had put up – being a first-rate Yatagarasu and all."

Kay was almost to the point of infuriation that she stepped forward and was tempted to strangle Yew when she realized that she could only look and listen with dissatisfaction. "You don't deserve the title of the Yatagarasu, Calisto Yew. You're just a cold-blooded assassin with no remorse and very little sympathy for human life…"

"In the end, we all die, Ms. Faraday," Yew countered, no subtle change in expression or mood whatsoever. "Even if you're the greatest thief to have walked the face of the earth, you're simply just another statistic in mortality when you succumb back to the dirt. No matter who you were in life – even if you're a murderer, all of us go back to the ground." She stepped away and sat down on the metal folding chair. "Will you still pursue the life of the vigilante?"

"_Were all of those words true? About how my father regretted being the Yatagarasu? It just couldn't be!"_

"Many years have passed, Kay Faraday," Yew taunted her. "What have you been doing for the past eight years since you've supposedly inherited the legacy? What kind of good have you been doing as the self-proclaimed Yatagarasu? What kind of idiocy would your two own feet would try to pull out, knowing that they could never surpass what we had done in the course of a few years? What would –"

This time, she blew her temper up. "Shut up!" Kay roared with such enormous intensity that she hadn't done in a lifetime.

With only a metal-barred barrier between the two of them, fire and ice that streamed out of their emotions judged from the way they looked at each other met and clashed trying to overpower the other. The blazing gaze met the stoic one as the mixed emotions could not exactly define if it was contentment, disgust, anger, or even sentiment that one shared for the other. Even inside her cell, where no outside contact could get to her except for the lone single well-secured electronic door, Calisto Yew remained calm in the face of adversity. The infuriated Kay Faraday wanted to land blows on her, to teach her a lesson about insulting the good name of the Yatagarasu, but the impossibility only wore her down.

"Think about it," Yew spoke up after a tense silence. When she said this, she stood up and faced the wall, signifying that she did not want to talk to Kay any further. The discussion was done – but it won't be the last time that they would speak to each other.

Kay let her feelings cool down and subside before she started walking down the alley and out back into the open where she could get a little more fresh air. In the presence of visitors, she roused her thoughts from the conversation. "_Though I don't want to admit it, what Calisto Yew… or Shih-na posed does have a lot of ring to it. But… what my father's diary said was that he had walked the path of the Yatagarasu nobly. Who was lying? Ms. Yew or my father?_"

* * *

**July 1, 2019; Faraday Residence (Abroad)**

Byrne Faraday left two of his greatest mementos to Kay Faraday: his diary and the nifty gadget called Little Thief. His diary was exclusively for Kay's perusal, while Little Thief was exclusively for Kay's use. While not exactly the gadgets used to plan information grand larceny (save Little Thief that had numerous overloading systems), Kay found Little Thief very useful in the first year she acquired it. It was more than just a toy for Kay when she was young. It helped her escape numerous situations when she was living with her relatives abroad. When she was abducted when Kay was fifteen years old, she relied on Little Thief after overhearing information from the abductors and sought a way out using the gadget's technology. Thanks to her cleverness and shrewdness, Kay managed to alert the local police and the abductors were jailed.

Byrne Faraday's diary contained every heartfelt moment that the late prosecutor experienced – it narrated his dreams, his visions, his encouragement, his sorrows, his woes, his victories, his frustrations, and his glories. He would go on to narrate his life as a prosecutor while doubling his job as the Great Thief. As entries went on later, Byrne would express numerous views on various issues – on different cases, on different events, and even on some trivial details. But when it came to the Yatagarasu issue, his entries were usually the longest. No one except Byrne Faraday could access the diary because it was made of a near-unbreakable material that he had specially custom-made and the only way to open it was using a miniature form of the Yatagarasu's Key.

"_September 8, 2011… I know I have him,_" the final entry read. "_I have every answer to all the questions plaguing this case. There are numerous evidence against the defendant, and I will make sure that he gets the verdict he deserves._" The entry then proceeds to list the building evidence against the defendant for an upcoming trial to be held two days later. He also made a brief description on the defense attorney, saying that she was shrewd and most likely to be aware of what Byrne would do in court. In the end, he then made one subtle hint. "_I have a feeling that this feels to be connected to the KG-8 incident because of many similarities, but unless I can confirm it with the weight of the evidence involved, mere comparison cannot indict the defendant of anything. Nevertheless, I'm sure that there will be certain victory in my case._"

The diary entry ended there, not knowing that it would be Byrne Faraday's last. However, he made another paragraph that was written the next day: "_I've decided to bring Kay along. Though it'll not be her first time in the courthouse, she seemed excited to watch me perform. I also believe that she enjoys trips to the courthouse because of the Swiss roll. But other than that, when the trial is over, I guess it'll be a good time to tell her that she would inherit the next legacy of the Yatagarasu in case something in the near future happens to me. I just hope she won't take it hard._"

The remaining pages, about twenty to thirty of them, remained blank since Byrne Faraday died during the recess of the trial he was handling.

Kay was about to close the diary when she inspected the back cover and noticed something unusual and interesting about the inside back cover of the diary. While it seemed to show just a plain brown gradient, Kay noticed that the sides seemed to be unusually raised. She felt the inside back cover and discovered that it was made of well-crafted paper, difficult to rip apart without any necessary tools.

"_Did dad leave a hidden message here?_"

Compelled by this idea and the anticipation of learning a few more secrets with what her father had to share, Kay set out to find any sharp blade that would carefully open the back cover. She returned three minutes later with a blunt knife that would make an easy tear on any part of the back cover and she could do the rest by hand. But where to start?

It wasn't as easy as she thought. If she messed up, the knife would eventually pierce through the back cover, also making a bad hole inside the hidden message that was hopefully to be there. She had to make a nice cut – slowly and carefully. Using her dexterity to wield the knife in such a way that the knife would make a small crease on the center, Kay had to grip the handle gently. If she did it too forcefully, she would have to regret it if ever the blade found her skin instead.

The small crease was formed. All needed was a small needle to make an easy hole. Kay found one inside her mother's dresser and began to make her way through the back cover. Just one little hole could become a magnanimous one given enough force.

And then she did it. It was a very minute hole a little larger than a pebble in a sandstorm, but one that Kay could move the needle around to make the tear larger. When the tear was large enough, Kay set aside the needle and observed what was inside the back cover. She expected nothing at first, but to her amazement and surprise, a sheet of paper was actually inside the back cover. How it got there in the first place would remain a mystery, but Kay theorized that her father might have left it there long before he started working on the diary.

"_This paper,_" Kay mused as she began to work on the rest of the tearing to extract the paper beneath the inside back cover. "_It must have been more than seven years ago._" When the tear was wide enough, she picked up the paper gently.

The paper was lightweight and made of a quality unlike any other. Much to her surprise, the paper was not like any paper she perceived at all. It took a lot of unfolding, and when there were no more spots to unfold, the paper spread out one square meter.

But the dimensions of the paper weren't what startled Kay. It was the contents.

"_This is… the blueprints for creating Little Thief!_"

But that was not all. The blueprints, with all its devices, functions, and instructions for Little Thief's uses, only filled up a third of the extensive diagram. The rest contained paste-ins of numerous heist plans on infiltrations inside numerous institutions, mostly business corporations. One however included the Supreme Court in order to expose some dealings of a corrupt Supreme Court judge. It was unclear in the diary whether the plan was carried out or not. Yet Kay was astounded by the very detailed information about the Yatagarasu. "_It seems that dad really took his backside profession seriously as well._" She was looking at anything in that large paper that could be of great interest to her. Perhaps the other uses for Little Thief that Kay hadn't discovered yet would need some exercise – given some time and right circumstances.

Kay was about to fold the paper when she saw something written on the bottom-right corner. It was written in such a minuscule size that Kay might have needed a magnifying glass to read it better. But as she squinted her eyes to focus on the words, Kay realized that the message was not a code or secret, but a saying from what her father wrote years earlier: "You are not solely defined on who you are but who you wish to be and who you fight for. That is why I became a prosecutor."

It was there that Kay partly understood her father's messages spread out in the diary. The context that held Byrne Faraday's secrets was in that very small message that only careful eyes would point out.

"_Who I wish to be… The path of the Yatagarasu will be a long and winding one. But if this is dad's will dictating me to pursue something by heart… it will be the one thing that is worth stealing – the truth._"

_It was a hard life for me as I struggled on what to do with myself. But using the determination I got out from my father's words in his diary, I finished high school then took up college and eventually law school. I became a lawyer when I was twenty-four years old… and I decided to bring my career into a prosecuting world. Of course, I needed to have someone, an adept, who could mentor me more about the profession – and there was no other person I could think of than my friend, Miles Edgeworth._

* * *

**Sometime in the future, eight years later…**

"Welcome to the prosecutor's world, Kay Faraday," renowned high prosecutor Miles Edgeworth introduced Kay to her office. It was located on the fourth floor, where the offices of novice prosecutors were usually placed. Upper floors were for prosecutors with either greater experiences or significant intellect. The building had fifteen floors but the offices were up to the twelfth floor, where Miles Edgeworth and a few other veteran prosecutors were placed.

Kay's office was not slightly different as Edgeworth's, area-wise. However, she had opted to choose a theme of her own. With that choice, most of her cabinets and shelves were painted either a navy blue or a sleek black, magnifying Kay's affiliation and her perseverance of the Yatagarasu. Like Edgeworth's office, which she used to hang out often to steal a chat or give some breaking news, Kay had a magnificent settee couch with navy blue cushions. Her black swiveling chair facing her dark brown desk provided the air of mystery whenever Kay sat down on it. Other than that, Kay's office was still sparse since she had just started her career. However, some of her academic files and papers had been placed in neat file series.

Prosecutors in the fourth floor, however, were not independent prosecutors. As such, Kay still had to report to her mentor, Miles Edgeworth. Depending on the weight of cases and the views that a case had to offer, Edgeworth was given the task of handing a prosecuting assignment to Kay if he believed that in-court settlement would be high and the relative facts of the case were simple enough.

After a small chat with Edgeworth, mostly about her opinion about the office, she closed the door to settle down in her new office.

"Oh, so this is the secret safe Mr. Edgeworth mentioned a while ago," Kay mumbled as she inspected the safe on the left wall facing from the door. Every prosecutor's office had a safe installed on the wall of the office. These safes had numerous defensive mechanisms – including a fingerprinting analysis on the buttons. "According to Mr. Edgeworth, if a gloved hand or another person tried to access this safe, it would not open for them." An additional defensive mechanism was the use of a voiceprint, newly installed in the office. The voiceprint required a vocal registration of the person required to open the safe. "Oh! So that was why we had to read out that poem when I was registering in the office."

Given enough information registration, and that the database on Kay had already been recorded, it would be safe for Kay to try out her hand in opening the safe. She had already set her twelve-digit password, one that only Kay would remember. In her registration, Kay's voiceprint was also recognized. "One of the unique things about a voiceprint is that no matter how hard you mimic your voice or change it into someone else's, the voiceprint machine will always recognize your sound."

She input her password: ************ (censored due to privacy rights) then recited a one-line – her favorite line used to introduce herself as the Yatagarasu. She coughed to clear her voice before she spoke:

"_Even in the depths of night  
When no other bird dares to take flight  
One alone soars to shine the light  
Of righteousness on the world's blight!_"

Kay giggled to herself as the voiceprint recorded her identification.

Seconds later, a beep sounded from the safe, indicating that the safe recognized Kay Faraday. If the two identification processes were consistent, the safe would be unlocked for a few seconds. But if someone other than Kay tried to bust open the safe, the safe (according to Edgeworth and Detective Gumshoe) would explode in their face but not necessarily kill them, although death would be a possibility but it would make the public learn on why it would not be wise to pry open a prosecutor's safe.

Kay reached out for the handle to open the safe. As such, it was still empty since Kay had yet to store any important evidence in there. But Edgeworth also lectured that the door of the safe had a motion-sensor installed on the handle. The handle was actually another fingerprinting sensor. If someone somehow managed to pass through the two identification processes, a final line of defense would be used on the handle. If a gloved hand or another person other than the owner of the safe would attempt to open it, the safe would lock automatically.

"_Wow… this is neat and wonderful technology for protecting evidence… I guess the prosecutors can get so much to uphold the law by putting their best interests behind them for the security of evidence._"

All in all, Kay was satisfied on her new occupation of the office. While the higher floors had a much better view of the city skyline, Kay's view outside the window was full of low-rise buildings and the busyness of the city below.

It took her some time to adjust to her work, given the more demanding requirements – factor times more than when she was in law school. Novice prosecutors were usually the target of most collar jobs and this was the most fitting way to determine their start-up salary. There were rare instances when novice prosecutors were suddenly given an assignment that was dropped down on their desks. Most of the time, these prosecutors won in open court, but only narrowly due to a near-hung jury instance. It was rare nowadays to have a unanimous "Not Guilty" decision by the jurists.

Many people, especially the veteran prosecutors who had known her father, wanted to know a little more about Byrne Faraday's background. They often talked to Kay about how much of a good person her late father was – but these stories, no matter how jovial they were, stung Kay to her heart. No matter how much they would talk about him and lament over his death even when he was given his well-deserved win for justice years later, it would not change the fact that her father would not come back.

"Do you strive to become an embodiment of your father?" Kay was asked the question one day from a veteran prosecutor, a close affiliate with Edgeworth and was knowledgeable on the Yatagarasu issue, long dead.

She had no answer to that one yet. She simply replied, "I have a career of my own to mold and form. It's not a question of whether I want to be like my father or to become the way the Raven wanted to be."

Kay's answers sealed her fate in the office. While many other novices shared similar expressions, her answer combined with her past seemed to have a unique blend that made her a standout in the novices. Nevertheless, Kay preferred to remain simple. But for now, while she was still young and new, it was all work and all questions – until she would have a fateful encounter several months later that would ultimately direct her course of life to a new path.

_Life as a novice prosecutor could be described as harsher than that when I was still a law student. Even in the first month, there were numerous files to deal with left and right, meetings to attend, loads of sleepless nights, and even detached moments. Somehow, I get the feeling that this job might not be cut out for me after all. But through many of friendly higher-ups motivation and charisma, and through their numerous demonstrations of flawless examples in the courtroom – with Mr. Edgeworth's supports and dad's supportive words in his diary – I sought to continue the path which I've taken, to herald myself into a new step that is upholding the Raven's vigilance. And I will do so by exposing the truth that has been sealed away when there is no one else willing enough to find it._

_But how could I do so? The Yatagarasu as what I've continuously learned from my dad's exploits operated as a group even though it seemed to operate alone. The quest for the truth won't be as easy as it would be, from what Mr. Edgeworth experienced through his numerous chases after masterminds and ruthless killers. A life on the line is always at stake whenever I am at work, and it is usually in my decision that decides the outcome of that person's life. It seems that the new Yatagarasu has yet to be unfolded – but I'm not going to expose myself yet._

_I feel that the answers are still out there. The questions that Calisto Yew asked me years before has still stung in my memory. How far will I go to become the vigilante that I could be? Will I violate the rules of the law just to make the truth known? Just how much will I put my entire life on the line in exposing what has been hidden? Years will pass and I might still not produce a single answer to those questions. But as long as I uphold the nobility of the Raven by informing the truth, then there perhaps is no reason for me to regret the path that I've chosen for my own._

***** END OF EPISODE *****

* * *

**Chapter Notes:** _I encountered numerous problems when I wrote this chapter._

_First, there were a lot of discrepancies between my intended storyline for this chapter and some details in the first chapter. Thus, I had to change details in the first chapter without sacrificing the plot._

_Second, I was trying to be careful in the dates for her flashbacks. Numerous time spans indicate that while seven years would pass since Turnabout Reminiscence and the rest of the series, Turnabout Reminiscence according to the Ace Attorney Wikia takes place in September 2011, while the other episodes take place in March 2019 - thus making it more or less seven-and-a-half years to pass. Therefore, to avoid age discrepancy, Kay's birthday falls somewhere between April 7 (the date after Gyakuten Kenji 2 ends) and September 9 (the day before her appearance in Turnabout Reminiscence in Ace Attorney Investigations). Thus, in the story, Kay becomes a prosecutor at twenty-five years old, which becomes befitting in the first chapter, Cafe Therapy, since she is twenty-five herself and Apollo is twenty-three (the first episode takes place one year after the start of Apollo Justice Ace Attorney), thus resolving the conflict._

_Third, I might have some scenario inconsistencies in presenting the standoff between Byrne Faraday, "Calisto Yew," and Mack Rell. Well, nobody knows Calisto Yew's real name but she had most of the exposure during Turnabout Reminiscence and thus it was befitting for her to use that alias in this chapter. If there are contradictions in that scene, do let me know. Also, do know that Kay's confrontation with Calisto Yew in jail takes place roughly after Gyakuten Kenji 2 - thus, I assumed that she would go to her mother's place after that._

_Fourth, speaking of mother's relatives, it's not clear if she meant by "far away" mentioned in the game meaning that her relatives were abroad or that they were just in another part of the United States. I thought abroad would be most fitting here - but where exactly abroad could remain unknown, until I choose to reveal it... United Kingdom perhaps?_

_Fifth, note that Calisto Yew occupies Solitary Confinement Cell No. 13. This is the same place that Kristoph Gavin would occupy a few years later, so maybe Calisto Yew might be moved to death row given the circumstances. I had no other feasible idea to place her in another befitting jail cell._

_Again, I would appreciate it if you left a review or a comment. There are still so many episodes to come! You can check out the upcoming episodes in the table of contents portion in the Introductory Notes chapter of this story. :)_

_**PowerZone**  
_


	4. EP 3: Change of Heart

**~~~~~ EPISODE 3: CHANGE OF HEART ~~~~~**

_Where the previous episode featured a look in Kay Faraday's decision and beginnings to be a prosecuting attorney, this episode features a look in Apollo Justice's past and how he came to be as a defense attorney. The story presented here will bear similar resemblance to another of my favorite stories here in the same game, "Your Life" by KatrinaKaiba. Adaptation used with permission from the author. Credits go to that story for inspiration in this chapter._

_SETTING: District Court – Defendant Lobby No. 2, Courtroom No. 3_

_POINT-OF-VIEW: Kristoph Gavin, Apollo Justice_

* * *

***** STORY PROPER *****

"Justice… what an odd surname," Apollo muttered to himself when he turned to look at his college diploma for a random moment. The diploma was proudly placed inside a glass frame and hung on the wall – proof that he graduated from a prominent law school. Anyone would think that Apollo would have had incredible feats of securing the position, but only Apollo himself knew that there were many messy encounters in his more youthful days. And the surname wasn't given to him until years later after he was accused of murder.

* * *

**June 29, 2018, 9:48 AM; District Court, Defendant Lobby No. 2  
**_Kristoph Gavin's POV_

Kristoph Gavin's first impression on the boy was that he couldn't possibly have pushed a grown man out of a window to his death. But here he was – the perfect opportunity to polish his skills by defending a juvenile of murder.

"Tell me again, Apollo. Did you do it?" Kristoph asked the boy.

Apollo was very short and thin as if he were anemic. His history among the other orphans was bleak. As a boy, Apollo usually played and did things alone. He got himself out of trouble most of the time – but he was the target of many neighborhood bullies. Apollo had little means to defend himself whenever these fights occurred, but his agility usually lets him escape the fights. He wore a yellow T-shirt with a Blue Badger logo on it, a brown knickerbockers, and a brown pair of slippers.

"No sir," Apollo squeaked.

Kristoph answered. "If what you say is true, then you have nothing to worry about, my boy."

The boy looked up to his client with an expression as if he were about to cry. "B-But everyone seems to think I did it."

The defense attorney pat the boy's head softly. "That is what everyone thinks. The evidence that will be presented will say otherwise."

Apollo seemed clueless. "E-Evidence?"

Kristoph frowned. "_Poor boy… so secluded, so limited._"

_My name is Kristoph Gavin._

_This is a trial taking me back many years ago. I was a nervous but ready defense attorney, set to defend a client, a fourteen-year old orphan named Apollo with no surname. The case is this: on the 27__th__ day of June, at about ten in the evening, someone was killed inside the orphanage home where Apollo lives. The sole witness was another orphan who claimed to have seen Apollo commit the crime. And now, I'm here to defend the fourteen-year old who… I can't believe… would do such a thing._

"Let's go to the courtroom, Apollo," Kristoph told him. "Do you remember what I said to you about the procedures in court?"

Apollo nodded. "Do not speak unless asked to do so."

"Another thing, Apollo," Kristoph continued. "Don't show your hands to anyone in the courtroom. I have good intention that it might be helpful for the case."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The defense attorney nodded as well. "Seems like you've remembered everything I told you the other day. Let's go." As Kristoph led Apollo out of the defendant lobby and walked their way to the nearby courtroom, the defense attorney felt his heart palpitating. "_Whether the evidence proves his innocence or his guilt, that is by my hand as I conduct this trial._"

* * *

**June 29, 2018; 10:00 AM; District Court, Courtroom No.3**

Apollo was slightly fascinated by the formal and secluded yet enigmatic atmosphere of the courtroom. To his left and right was a raised podium for the spectators. Below the spectators' stands on each side were two benches: the prosecutor's bench on the left and the defense's bench on the right. The defendant's bench was just beside the defense's bench. In between the two benches was the witness stand, and ahead of the witness stand was the grand desk where the Judge would sit. The mark of the law, the scales, was etched and carved on a gold-colored plate behind the Judge.

Apollo was instructed to sit down on the defendant's bench, while Kristoph and the prosecuting attorney took their places in their respective benches. A few seconds later, the bailiff, standing near the door to what seemed to be the Judge's chambers, bellowed. "All rise!"

Everyone stood up; Apollo learned about this preliminary courtroom procedure from his attorney as he stood up with the others. He looked around and observed the surroundings around him, then he watched a majestic senile man walk up from the chamber's door to his desk. He was a bald man with a gray beard who had a serious disposition, clothed in a gray robe district court judges wear, and was carrying a folder and a gavel in each of their hands. The Judge sat down and instructed the others to do so, to which it followed with slightly disturbing sounds as if everyone's legs collapsed.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Apollo…" He opened the file and searched the records. "Apollo…"

"He does not have one, Your Honor," Kristoph spoke up. He stood up proud and ready, showing no nervousness – although Apollo could detect that the defense attorney was slightly nervous.

"So he's like one of those celebrities who doesn't use their surnames? Like Madonna and Cher?" the Judge joked. A few people in the audience sniggered.

Kristoph fell silent though he wanted to react.

"Are both sides ready?" the Judge asked the two attorneys.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Kristoph answered first.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," answered the prosecution on the other bench. He was a man who wore spectacles and looked like as if he were a filthy rich drug lord. The prosecution smirked, "And what good for me it is today, I'm standing up against a new contender in the defense's bench."

Kristoph smiled. "The famed 'Rookie Killer' Winston Payne," he greeted – Apollo detected sarcasm behind his attorney's greeting. "It will be a pleasure to do battle with you in Court."

"Your opening statement, Mr. Payne," the Judge addressed the prosecutor.

Mr. Payne then started his speech. "Two days ago in the suspect's orphanage, one of the older orphans named Tiggle was found dead outside the building. A witness had seen the event and claimed that the suspect had pushed the victim out of the third-floor window." He then presented a document inside an envelope. "Inside the envelope is Tiggle's autopsy report."

Copies were given to the Judge and the defense attorney for their perusal. "Estimated time of death is at 10:00 PM of June 27," the Judge read the summary. "Cause of death was free fall." He nodded, his bald head glinting like a shiny coin. "The autopsy report seems to be in order and will be accepted in the Court record."

"Your Honor, the prosecution has another piece of evidence to show," prosecutor Payne addressed the Judge and handed to him via the bailiff a document. Copies of the document were also given to Kristoph Gavin for viewing. "At the time of the victim's death, there was a blackout in the orphanage. The blackout was caused by the passing thunderstorm that ruptured the main power supply."

Kristoph needed nothing to read as Payne summarized it all neatly.

The Judge took some time in reading the document and nodded. "This document shall be added to the Court record as well." He then addressed Prosecutor Payne, "You may now call your first witness."

The prosecutor shot a taunting smile at Kristoph and said, "I hope you're ready, Mr. Gavin. This witness will be the one to put your nail in the coffin."

"We shall see about that," Kristoph replied. He was calm and collected on the façade, but he was fidgeting and clicking his fingers to indicate that he was still slightly nervous even after numerous years of experience.

"Please bring in the witness."

Less than a minute later, the bailiff returned to the courtroom with the witness. The witness was also one of the orphans, a boy much taller than Apollo and had a slightly larger build that made him look like a roughneck.

"What is your name, young man?" Prosecutor Payne started.

The orphan snarled as he shot at the prosecutor with a look ready to kill. "Don't call me young man, old man!"

The prosecutor seemed to be intimidated, which slightly amused Apollo.

The witness introduced himself as Centino – which, like Apollo, did not have a surname; he turned to the Judge. "Listen pops. What am I here for? I dun do nothing to kill him!"

"Please calm down, Centino," the prosecutor told him. "You're not here because you've killed someone. You're here to testify."

Centino rolled his eyes. "Testify? What kind of test do I have to take? I hate tests!" There was a swear word inserted there, to which the Judge snapped.

"Mr. Centino, your language is not valid here in the courtroom," the Judge told Centino sternly. The roughneck orphan had no choice but to comply. "Now that we're all settled down, please continue, Mr. Payne."

The prosecutor made a cough before he turned his attention to the roughneck orphan. "Centino, please give the court on what you saw… the moment you claimed to have seen the suspect, Apollo, push the victim out of the window."

Centino then turned sharply at the defendant and sniggered. "Oh, so they caught you?" he taunted then laughed. "Too bad, sucka."

Kristoph slammed a palm on the defense's bench and snapped, "If you don't comply with the prosecution's request, Mr. Payne there will see to it that you're caught yourself into jail."

Apollo was marveled on how his attorney talked the bad bully down.

The roughneck grunted then began his testimony. "Lights out… yeah. It was pretty dark inside the house." He scratched his head as if he were trying to remember the details. "Then, uh… yeah, I was going downstairs to have a good scare with the pipsqueaks. Then, then…" his eyes lit up. "I saw them! I saw two people there… they were fighting!" Centino was indeed having trouble remembering the details. "I thought that I could scare them like hell, but then the boy there," he pointed at Apollo, "pushed the girl out of the window!"

Centino stopped there. Nobody seemed to be impressed with the testimony, but that was all they had.

"Quite a fitting testimony," Prosecutor Payne said smugly.

The Judge sighed, hinting that he was not in the least astounded. "I'm not sure on what to make up with this, but… cross-examination is yours, Mr. Gavin."

Kristoph nodded at the Judge then looked sideways to Apollo. He then muttered to Apollo, "This is what I mean by cross-examination. You might want to learn a thing or two here." When Apollo nodded, the defense attorney turned his attention to Centino and began questioning him. "Centino, given your reputation as a troublemaker…"

But before Kristoph could continue, Centino snapped. "Troublemaker? Why should I be a troublemaker when you've got that kid as a suspect?"

"Let the defense finish," the Judge slammed down his gavel. "Centino, any more unnecessary and uncalled for outburst from you, and I'll make sure you'll be in big trouble." He then told Kristoph. "Mr. Gavin, that statement will be stricken from the record."

Centino recoiled then apologized sheepishly to Kristoph.

"Centino, given your reputation in the orphanage, you wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to have a good scare on anyone, correct?"

Centino grinned. "Heh… it's one of the tricks I learn by the book, '101 Ways to Scare for Fun.' You should read it, it's great reading."

Kristoph fell silent for a moment to collect his thoughts. "And that includes sneak attack?"

Centino seemed impressed. "Yeah… that one could be the best of the best. There they were, the guy and the girl in the dark – they seemed to be fighting. And then… CRASH! went the window!" he exclaimed.

"Any thoughts, Mr. Gavin?" the Judge addressed Kristoph.

Kristoph did not need to find the contradiction – one that even Apollo knew. "Your Honor," he addressed the Judge. "I'm taking the witness's testimony into a doubtful state." But before prosecutor Payne could open his mouth for an objection, Kristoph continued immediately, "The witness identified not once but twice that the victim was a girl. However, the autopsy report on the victim's profile indicates that the victim was a boy."

When Centino heard this, he jumped in shock. "W-What? B-B-But how?"

"I understand," Kristoph told him. "Name-wise, you would think that the victim's name, Tiggles, could theoretically be a girl's name." His smile faded. "But why would you think that the two of them would be fighting? What possible reason do you know that Apollo and Tiggles would fight in the middle of the dark?"

The spectators murmured among themselves until prosecutor Payne shrieked with a cry of "Objection!" He leaned forward, sweat dropping like waterfalls from his head. "That question is irrelevant to the case!"

But Centino did not pay attention to prosecutor Payne. He crossed his arms and had a not-impressed look on his face. "Meh, it's nothing. Tiggles was another of the bullies anyway. So… er, uh yeah… the kid over there might have pushed him away out of defense. I've, uh… seen him before and… umm, he usually escapes."

"But as a…" Kristoph paused to find the right word, one that would put him in the lead, "… professional bully," Apollo almost sniggered, "you would run into Apollo, right?"

"Yeah, I could say so… but he already sneaked past me."

The defense attorney smirked, and Apollo knew that there was another lie he just fished out. "Sad to say that's impossible," Kristoph told him. "A single look at the third floor hallway would tell you otherwise." He then presented the floor map, which was shown on the overhead projector. When everyone got a good view of the map, Kristoph addressed the court. "According to the witness, he was going to go downstairs to have a good scare with the younger orphans, I presume, so it would be safe to say that he was over there by the stairs." To the right of the staircase was a twenty-meter long hallway drawn to scale. There were rooms to the left and right but they were all locked at that time. "It would be impossible for Apollo to sneak past you since you… a big guy and all… would have bumped into him anyway."

Once again, the spectators buzzed. Centino seemed unnerved while prosecutor Payne was speechless.

The Judge slammed down his gavel thrice. "Order! Order in the Court!" When he gave this signal, the buzzes died instantly.

The satisfying smile from the defense attorney meant something for Apollo.

"Objection!" Payne shrilled. "Mr. Gavin, even if Apollo did bump into the witness, that would not clear his name of murder. I'm aware that this is to be understood!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Payne," Kristoph countered. "But there is another issue to clear up – namely how the witness was able to identify Apollo. I'm sure it was pretty dark there, given the blackout and all – unless Centino had night vision goggles."

Apollo was forced to chuckle and a few other spectators did as well – the Judge let it slide. Prosecutor Payne winced.

The Judge slammed his gavel. "Very well. Centino, please give the Court your details on how you identified Apollo."

It seemed that Centino hated these kinds of questions, but he had no choice. "As I told you, it was dark and all. But when I saw the two of them fighting, there was a flash of lightning." He felt nervous as if he were to disclose something secret. "I'm… a little uncomfortable with lightning… but even so, I swear it was him! It was his bracelet that shined in that flash of lightning!"

When Centino was finished, the Judge told Kristoph to proceed with his cross-examination.

The defense attorney wasted no time. "By bracelet, do you mean Apollo's bracelet?"

"W-why?" Centino said, feeling unsure. "I-Is something wrong?"

Kristoph shook his head. "We just want to clarify." He was trying to look for more questions to pull information out from Centino. Or perhaps he was reconsidering his strategy. "You positively identified my client, Apollo, from the bracelet that he wears. Have you seen that bracelet before on his personage on any occasion?"

Centino folded his arms again. "Y-Yeah, I'm sure of it. When he was being bullied around… I think I might have seen him wear that bracelet at times."

In the defendant's bench, Apollo couldn't help but feel tense. Something was going on, but Apollo couldn't sense it. He wanted to tell his attorney about Centino's actions, but he remembered that he was told to stay silent unless he was asked to speak up.

"And so you identified it even in the brief flash of lightning – just as you saw Apollo push the victim out of the window?"

Centino nodded like a schoolchild.

"Please speak up for the Court," instructed prosecutor Payne.

"Yes," Centino confirmed.

Apollo could not hold back his internal struggle. Not caring on what was about to happen next, he sprung from the defendant's bench and bellowed, "That's a lie!" Immediately, all eyes were on Apollo and the volume of the spectators' mumbles increased. Kristoph turned to Apollo with a shocked expression, but Apollo stayed motionless – his eyes were on Centino, whose vision locked on Apollo with a menacing look. Prosecutor Payne seemed unnerved, while the Judge raised his eyebrows.

"Apollo," Kristoph sternly told the boy, "what did I tell you about the courtroom procedures?"

"I – I'm sorry sir," Apollo apologized, though he still did not want to back down. "But I can't help it… I know he's lying!"

Kristoph became irate. "And how do you know he's lying?"

The boy closed his eyes. "P-Please just believe me." He was hesitant to disclose something, but he made up his decision. "C-Centino there, he's doing something whenever he mentions the bracelet. I don't know if you can see it, but you have to!"

The defense attorney sighed. "What will I ever do with you…?" He then turned his attention back to the court while the Judge slammed down his gavel and all the murmurs quieted. Kristoph cleared his throat. "Back to our questioning, Centino. If by all means, could you describe how the bracelet looked like?"

Centino scratched his head then folded his arms. "It's not really hard to describe. It's just gold-colored and a little worthless at that… not in my tastes."

This struck a nerve on Apollo.

Kristoph had to look at this for another angle. "Would it fit in you if you tried the bracelet on?"

Suddenly, prosecutor Payne objected. "Mr. Gavin, you've been speaking up the entire time in this testimony about the bracelet, but I hardly see any contradiction you can come up with."

The Judge agreed. "Mr. Gavin, please emulate questions on the testimony in general."

The defense attorney backed down. "Your Honor, the testimony centers on the method of identification. Centino here claimed that even in the pitch black darkness, he was able to identify Apollo via the bracelet when a flash of lightning passed. Please allow me to continue my questioning."

But the smug prosecutor retaliated. "Hmph. I see no reason for this – or probably it's just an excuse for you to continue this travesty."

The Judge considered Kristoph's proposal. "You may continue your cross-examination, Mr. Gavin. But unless you can come up with new facts, I'm afraid I will have to penalize you for uncalled for questioning. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, Your Honor," Kristoph answered calmly, a confident smile on his façade. He then returned to his questioning. "Centino, you established the basis of identifying Apollo even in the brief span of time when the lightning flash occurred based on the bracelet that Apollo wears." He crossed his arms. "But the bracelet in evidence was also found in the victim's personage as well and he was discovered to be wearing it. Tell me, Centino. Has the victim, Tiggles, also been doing acts of thievery?"

Centino did not seem the least comfortable. "W-Well, i-if I have to say it… then maybe, yeah."

"Then I guess you wouldn't have a problem telling the Court on which wrist Apollo had worn his bracelet, right?"

Centino turned to Apollo, who had his hands hidden from the witness's sight. The purpose of this questioning was to ascertain the witness's credibility based on his memory of events. He recalled what he could. "He wears it on the right."

"Is that your final answer?" Kristoph answered ala game show host style.

"Yes."

Kristoph sneered. "I'm afraid you have lost the million-dollar jackpot – and also your credibility."

Centino's eyebrows furrowed. "I… I was wrong?"

"The truth is that Mr. Justice never wore the bracelet at the time of the crime." He then told Apollo to show his hands. Apollo raised his arms, completely free of any bracelet except for a nasty mark on his left wrist. "I suspect that at the time of the crime, the victim, Tiggles was – to put it in a sense – fighting with Apollo and was struggling to remove the bracelet from Apollo's personage, all in the act of thievery." Kristoph continued his version of events. "This is probably when you saw them based on the flash of lightning."

"Objection!" shrilled prosecutor Payne. "But there's no actual evidence that the victim was trying to remove the bracelet."

Kristoph talked him down. "Look at that nasty mark on my client's wrist. You can see that the mark does go around the wrist – indicating that my client's bracelet had been forcefully removed off him."

"B-But w-where is this bracelet now?" Payne asked, stammering.

Kristoph frowned. He could not produce any good answer and the evidence could not help him. He went over through the autopsy, then the blackout record, the floor map, and even through his notes – but none of them produced any hint of the whereabouts of Apollo's bracelet. "I don't know," he answered sadly.

The spectators went wild with murmurs, a few of them were confused at the sudden turn of events.

"But if we can continue…"

The Judge suddenly slammed down his gavel. "That's enough, Mr. Gavin," he told him.

"But, Your Honor!" Kristoph pleaded.

Even so, the Judge heeded no mercy. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gavin. But unless you can come up with a single piece of evidence to show that your client's bracelet was indeed forcefully removed from him, I'm afraid your questioning will be discontinued."

Kristoph Gavin felt very tense. Apollo suddenly felt very afraid. The boy had been relying on his attorney's skills to let him off the hook. Is the defense attorney just about to give up? Was there any means for Apollo to help his attorney even for some useful information? But there was none. He had already told what he knew. In the middle of the blackout, everything was in chaos.

Before the Judge could proceed with the trial, Apollo stood up from his bench. "M-Mr. Judge! Wait! I… I think you should check to see if he has the bracelet on him!" He did this half-impulsively as he felt the sudden nervousness coming from the numerous pairs of eyes on the courtroom looking down at him. Even Mr. Payne was taken aback, and the Judge himself couldn't believe his eyes and ears – a sight to behold: Apollo, the orphan, had his arm outstretched, his finger pointed towards the witness.

Centino snapped, eventually breaking the silence. "Nonsense! W-Why would I even try to do that?"

Apollo mustered the courage. "You've been lying ever since you were there!" he blurted out. Even as his attorney told him to stop, Apollo continued. "You've been saying that you saw me there with Tiggles based on the flash of lightning and that you identified me by the bracelet that I had worn at that time." He then banged his fists on the defendant's bench. "But I say that's a lie!"

"Shut up, kid!" the witness snarled. "You should stay put there and listen to your attorney! Better that than coming up with an excuse that I got it off from him."

Immediately, as if a void had sucked all the air out in the courtroom, everyone suddenly had gotten silent for the second time since Centino's revelation.

"What did you say?" Kristoph asked, thinking that he just heard something extraordinary.

"My eyes may lie," Apollo spoke loudly. "But since it was dark and that I couldn't see anything there – I could still hear things even with the storm outside!"

And suddenly, as if some sharp shock had gotten into Kristoph's mind, he then came up with an idea. "Your Honor!" he then pointed a finger towards the witness. "We should conduct a search on the witness to see if he has something incriminating on him!"

"Objection!" prosecutor Payne objected. "There will be no need for that. I've already checked all of his belongings when we took him for questioning. The bracelet is not on him!"

Kristoph chuckled. "That's not what I meant, Mr. Payne. I propose that we send his clothing to the crime laboratory and see if we can get something out of it."

The Judge seemed startled by this proposal. "W-What are you planning to do, Mr. Gavin?"

The defense attorney did not falter. "There's a way to prove whether this witness is indeed innocent or just another criminal." He slammed a palm on his desk. "As things currently stand, it's safe to say that Centino could most likely be Tiggles's killer."

Centino lost himself. "Shut up, you idiot!" he outburst. "Why would you frame me as the killer?"

But the Judge was on to him. "Mr. Centino, I warned you about your use of words earlier!"

"But I didn't do it, Your Honor!" Centino pleaded with sympathy.

Kristoph and Apollo weren't about to fall for the trap. "Then, if you really are innocent, there should be nothing to worry about, right? So, please Centino, allow the defense to conduct an investigation on your clothing. Will it be alright, Mr. Payne?"

Centino fell silent as prosecutor Payne could not find any decent objection. "A-Alright," he stammered. "Centino, please cooperate with the investigators."

The roughneck could do nothing as the bailiff led him out of the courtroom.

"At this matter," the Judge spoke up. "I will have to declare a recess. Court will reconvene when we hear the results about the tests on the witness's clothing." He struck his gavel down to adjourn the Court, and everyone started filing out of the courtroom. Meanwhile, Kristoph would have to do a lot of talking to Apollo.

* * *

**June 29, 2018; 11:32 AM; District Court, Defendant Lobby No. 2  
**_Kristoph Gavin's POV_

"What was that about?" Kristoph hissed at his client's impatience.

Apollo could not look at his attorney in the eye. "I'm sorry, sir. B-But I could not sit down and do nothing while you were left speechless." He sat down at the lobby couch.

The defense attorney still did not seem impressed. "Even so, I told you time and time again to keep your mouth closed while Court is going on unless you're being told to speak!"

The boy fell silent. He thought it would be brave to talk down Centino even inside a Court of law, but upon realizing his actions that made the case go into a new light he might have regretted it.

"Anyway," Kristoph cut the clincher, "tell me something I don't know about the case. Tell me what you did during your scuffle with the victim. Why were you even in the third floor in the first place?"

Apollo closed his eyes and focused as he recalled the events in question. "It was dark… I was going out to use the bathroom when the lights went out. Suddenly, I heard the door bust open. Thinking that it was one of the bullies, I fled downstairs to the third floor then I heard someone come up. I had no choice but to go down that hallway."

"Even if you knew it was a dead end?"

Apollo gulped. "I thought that I could hide myself in the rooms under the cover of the darkness… only to find out that all of the doors were locked."

"So naturally, you encountered the victim."

The boy fell silent for a moment. "Y-You know, to be honest. I… I thought I would encounter Centino there… but I knew, I just knew… that when I was suddenly struggling against someone, it wasn't him… Being a victim of a lot of bullying situations, I kinda know how I thought it couldn't be Centino… so, yeah, it would probably the victim."

"Did you know him personally?"

"No," Apollo shook his head. "I overheard once from the other bullies about a new recruit and said that they were going to do some sort of initiation."

Kristoph Gavin nodded slowly. "_I think I understand. Tiggles was going to undergo an initiation the same way fraternities would do – and it wouldn't be hard to say that the initiation would involve thievery. The close monitoring of the orphanage activities is not close at all._" He consulted the evidence. "_There will be no more need for the existence evidence once I produce the results from the laboratory. If my plan goes well, it'll be safe to say that Centino indeed pushed Tiggles out of the window._"

"Um, sir?"

"What is it?"

"There's one more thing you should know." Apollo told him. "Centino was there when the victim and I fought. But… he wasn't actually assisting Tiggles in a way. He… was actually trying to stop him."

Kristoph's eyes glowed. "_Now this is news for me… because it isn't the way a professional bully would try to do!_"

"Y-Yeah, I heard them talking for a while… and then a flash of lightning came… and then, I heard the window crack. Everything happened so fast… I just fainted. When I came to, I was inside the jail."

Kristoph wanted to correct Apollo, but the sheer shock of the new revelation clammed him. "_This is vital information Apollo provided me… There's an unbelievable motive provided here._"

The defendant lobby doors opened and the bailiff called. "Mr. Gavin, your presence with Mr. Apollo is required in the courtroom."

Kristoph turned to his client. "Let's go."

* * *

**June 29, 2018, 11:50 AM; District Court, Courtroom No. 3**

"Court is back in session," declared the Judge when everyone settled down and both attorneys were in their places. The Judge turned his attention to Mr. Gavin. "Mr. Gavin, the results from the laboratory are back. The papers are provided in your desk for you to read out the results to the court."

Kristoph did as he was told. He read out the quite lengthy results word-by-word and in clear pronunciation. The summary was simply this: microscopic bits of glass shards were found in the witness's clothing. The glass shards were consistent with that of the glass window where the victim crashed through and fell down from. After this summary was read out, Kristoph then went straight to the conclusion. "This means that, in one way or another, the witness and the victim got involved in a scuffle – in the end, Centino pushed or rammed the victim out of the window. Remember that wherever a large amount of force is applied on a glass surface, glass shards will fly toward that force and not away from it."

The spectators buzzed but the Judge silenced them quickly.

"W-Witness, is this true?" Prosecutor Payne asked Centino, who did not seem to put up a resistance. Centino felt uneasy and tired.

"Y-Yeah," he confessed. "I… I did it." When he said that, this confession started another round of murmurs, surprised expressions, and speechlessness that could not be explicated by mere words. "W-When I heard the both of them in the fight… I thought… I could do myself a favor. And… yeah," he sighed. "That's what I did…"

"But why would you do that?" the Judge asked.

Centino swallowed. "I had no choice. T-That day, the orphanage directors said to me and threatened me that they would kick me out from the orphanage should my bullying go around any longer." He then gripped the witness stand as he looked down; words at this point were beyond any explanation to describe the sadness and sympathy. "I… I was going to tell all the bullies to stop their act if they didn't want to get kicked out… So, in the middle of dark, while Tiggles and I were fighting… I was trying to stop him, he was holding something… and then, I couldn't control myself… so, yeah…"

He then took something out from inside his jacket. It was a gold bangle, the same one that Apollo wore and lacked at the night of the crime. Centino turned to the defense attorney. "Most of what you said is true… But I didn't steal his worthless bracelet."

"It's my mother's memento!" Apollo bellowed.

Centino turned away. "Y-Your mom, huh…" He then tossed the bracelet over to Apollo, who caught it and wore it on his left wrist.

"It still doesn't account the fact that your confession cannot justify your action."

"Sorry, pops. But at that moment, I had a change of heart. Not wanting to get kicked out of the orphanage, I had to do something…" Centino continued. "But after hearing the kid got arrested, I thought I could pin it all on him."

The Judge had listened through the confession. "Mr. Gavin, what are your thoughts on this?"

Kristoph had not expected this. "Oh, er… Your Honor. I think it's more than enough."

The Judge nodded. "Very well… But since Centino here is underage, he will have to go through therapy."

"S-So, I'm not going to jail?"

"You will soon be, when you reach the age of majority," prosecutor Payne answered. "By then, you will have to stay in solitary confinement."

Centino looked away, unable to see anyone in the eye.

The Judge motioned the bailiff to take Centino away.

After Centino was led away in handcuffs, the Judge proceeded with the trial. "We've learned a few things here – particularly about child abuse. It only goes to show that even when you've reformed, your past actions cannot escape. The kind of psychology that the witness has encountered and endured, it is for the best that he learn from this experience." He then called out to the defendant. "Will the defendant stand up?"

Apollo stood up as the Judge instructed. When he stood up, proud and tall, and happy that it was all over, the Judge declared his verdict. "This Court finds the defendant, NOT GUILTY." At this revelation, the spectators applauded. In the middle of the applause, the Judge slammed down his gavel one more time and concluded, "That is all. This Court is adjourned!"

* * *

**June 29, 2018, 12:21 PM; District Court, Defendant Lobby No. 2  
**_Apollo Justice' POV_

"S-Sir, I… I can't believe it!" Apollo was in a state of severe shock. "Y-You actually won!"

Kristoph nodded. "It was a pleasure of defending you. But let me ask you something."

"What is it?"

The defense attorney did not bother to sit down on the couch behind him. "Now that you've been acquitted of all charges, what will you do from now on?"

"_I… I haven't really thought about that…_"

"Don't worry," Kristoph told Apollo. "It was a pleasure defending you. I will be on my way."

Apollo still could not get over from his shock. "_There must be some way I could repay him…_" As he watched his attorney pack up his things and walk toward the lobby door, Apollo then spoke up. "I'll… work hard from now on! And… I'll become a defense attorney, just like the way you do."

Kristoph turned his head slightly. "You? An orphan? Be a defense attorney?" He chuckled.

"_He… he doesn't believe me?_"

"That is almost an impossibility, boy," Kristoph talked him down. "But should the fates turn out to be lenient in your favor… I think I shall reconsider that stand." Before proceeding out of the lobby, he then made one final message, "The day your graduate from law school is the day you get accepted in my office. I doubt it will happen."

_I was speechless as I watched Mr. Gavin walk out of the lobby. But… I did as I could in order to escape the brutal pasts. My encounters with numerous bullies throughout my orphaned life did give me an innate sense on what justice should be. And even as I escaped from each encounter, I swore that I would give them the justice they deserve. A few months later, the orphanage directors agreed that I would pursue my education, something ideal than the other orphans who felt helpless. The trial helped me one way or another. It was during my law school that my classmates began seeing me as a defender of justice, thus I had to go through Court processes to put a surname. After all, I had little ancestry._

_So years would go by until I became a defense attorney just as I had hoped. On the way, I returned to my roots and met new orphans and old ones. The inspiration that the other orphans had gotten from that trial propelled themselves as well – making their inspirations indirect turning points in their lives. It was perhaps that what happened many years later would be the most memorable encounter of my life as I stepped outside the law office – hopeful that the boss inside would still remember me from years ago._

* * *

**June 25, 2024; Gavin Law Offices**

Kristoph Gavin had been working nonstop on a case file concerning last week's trial when he decided to take a little break. Then came a few knocks on the law office door.

Delighted for some work distraction, the cool attorney stood up and strove toward the door to meet the visitor. He opened the door and saw a person there clothed in red. He wore a white rolled-up sleeved polo tied with a sea green necktie, a red vest over the polo and tie, red trousers, and neatly polished brown leather shoes. Kristoph Gavin inspected the newcomer's attitude for a moment before asking, "Who might you be?"

"I expected that you might have forgotten me, Mr. Gavin," answered the visitor. "I hope you didn't…"

Kristoph was suspicious for a while until he saw the very thing in the newcomer's left wrist that reminded him of a particularly memorable trial from years ago. It was a gold bangle, one that Kristoph knew too well. For a split second, shock was registered on the veteran defense attorney's face.

"You're the orphan boy from that trial," he said. "What happened? Are you being accused of another crime?"

The boy shook his head. "No… not this time." He then presented Kristoph a black cover jacket that contained his diploma. "It's my diploma. I just graduated from law school today."

Kristoph inspected the diploma for a while but he was recalling some memory from the past. "Very well. I should make good with that promise from the trial all those years ago." He handed the diploma back to him.

"So… do I get the job?"

The defense attorney need not have a second's hesitation but he laughed heartily. "Naturally. Consider yourself lucky; very few lawyers can actually land a job come their graduation." He led the new attorney inside his office. "Welcome aboard, Apollo Justice."

***** END OF EPISODE *****

* * *

**Chapter Notes: **_Once again, due credits for inspiration and adaptation are given to KatrinaKaiba and her story "Your Life." I kinda had trouble making the case since I had to compress some details into one chapter - so yeah, it's a short case with nothing special in it. The thing about Apollo being an orphan amuses me. Which also led me to make a few differences about Apollo than the one described by KatrinaKaiba._

_One more thing: the first person to PM (note: PM, and NOT review) me the secret behind the name of the witness and the victim will receive special mention in a future chapter._

_Next chapter coming soon. I'll really appreciate it if you left a review or some suggestions. :)_

_**PowerZone**  
_


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